Scrambled Eggs
by NicolettexMarie
Summary: Finally, the wierdly food themed sequel to Burnt Toast! A year later, what on Earth happens to Tifa and Vincent and Cloud? Will someone's heart get broken? And will Cid and Barret EVER stop laughing at that photograph? Plz read & review, but also enjoy!


**A/N: **Okay, well... I lied. Lol. "Burnt Toast" does in fact have a sequel- but this is **it**! Thanks are owed to the wonderful people who reviewed the first story, and much thanks are owed to me being bored out of my mind for the idea for this one. So here's "Scrambled Eggs", the almost-too-sappy sequel to my first Final Fantasy story! And, as always, a disclaimer: I own nothing related to Final Fantasy VII (though I wish I did). Thanks for reading and puh-leeeaaazzzeee review!

Scrambled Eggs

One very handsome ebony-haired badass had kept his word. He had not stopped loving Tifa from the moment he said he did, voiced aloud what had been nagging at his soul for the last year or two. _She made me promise_, he thought to himself, with the (grudging) mental tone of a small child placing blame on someone else for a broken vase or a busted window. The thought sent a ghost of a smile from his brain to his lips, though it was exorcised before it reached his crimson eyes.

It had only been almost a year since that night, though from the way things had changed between Cloud and Tifa, one would think it had been two, three, even. Yuffie called them "gross"; Barret, "embarrassin'"; and Cid, "doomed". Of course, Vincent himself had no comment. Oh, yes, there were certain things he would just _kill_ to say (as it were), but he held his tongue, both for Tifa's sake and his own.

Now, sitting in a corner of Seventh Heaven, watching his friends laugh and talk at yet another of their gatherings, and even joining in the conversation once or twice, Vincent could hardly call himself happy. What was he supposed to feel, elation that one of the only women to ever invoke an emotion _close _to love in him was taken- happily- by his (perhaps best) friend? Who could give her more than he ever could have? _Talk about an ego boost_, Vincent found himself thinking sarcastically. Though, admittedly, if Tifa was happy, then it was worth the personal grief- pain- agony... whatever.

-----------------

Cloud made her happy. Cloud gave her love, safety, warmth, joy, a father for the two young ones she considered her children in all the ways that mattered, and more. He was right for her. He was destiny, fate, her soul mate.

And yet, no matter how many times Tifa said this, thought it, or was told it, one very handsome ebony-haired badass was never completely banished from her mind. In the face of her very own blonde hero, who had saved her more than once, the ebony-haired badass paled (further, that is). Cloud was her everything, and Vincent... Well, he was just her something. Right?

Tifa supposed she'd never really know. Vincent had spoken to her since that night, of course, but not about the two of them, and never alone. She missed his company when Cloud was gone, but Tifa well knew that there wouldn't be any convincing Vincent to stay around. Both of them knew that was for the better, that him staying would hurt them both further. It was too much to risk... and now, Tifa had far too much to lose if the mistakes she sometimes wanted to make were actually made.

The only explanation for anything she was thinking, feeling, was that she loved them both. As impossible as she would have thought it, as impossible as it seemed even now, she loved them both; there was room in her heart to love both. The fact that they both loved her back was just a bonus.

Cloud and Vincent... names synonomous for Tifa with day and night, white and black. They were complete opposites... and yet so alike in all of the ways that mattered. They were both dear to her, and if she were asked to compare them, to tell which she loved more, or more deeply... Her heart wrenched at the very thought. Oh, no... She could never choose, and even if she could, she would never hurt one of them so deeply, hurt _herself _so deeply. It was perfect the way it was. Vincent had made her a promise, and he honored it, she knew, as did she. And Cloud loved her endlessly, truly. She had everything she'd ever wanted, and it was plenty good enough, even if her feelings for the two of them got tossed around and flipped and turned sometimes like... like... she searched for an appropriate metaphor... like scrambled eggs.

-----------------

The blonde hero in question was happy. Cloud couldn't remember a time in his life when he had been happier, loved someone so much. Aeris had been very dear to his heart, yes, but it was nothing compared to the way he felt about his lovely brunette warrior and the two children that always seemed to melt his too-cold-for-too-long heart.

Sometimes, he wondered. He wondered if he was making the right choices, wondered if there was any danger to the people he cared about most because of them. Sometimes he wondered what Tifa was thinking about when she stared off into space as she did the dishes. Sometimes he questioned whether it was him, or something else... But he always reminded himself that he didn't really care. His Tifa was okay, his Denzel and Marlene were happy, his friends were safe... It was all that mattered to Cloud anymore. It didn't matter what Tifa sometimes thought about, or if she sometimes thought about something other than himself. He loved her, he knew she loved him, and that was all he could have asked for in the world.

Even these small get-togethers that were the norm for his group of friends had become more festive, if that were possible. They were all having a blast at this one, celebrating Yuffie's birthday (to her reluctance, of course). It was moments like this that Cloud cursed his stupidity in thinking that he'd had to go it alone for so long, that he was alone in the world and that he was no good to anybody. (It was moments like this that Cloud felt all cheesy and disgusting, too, but the knowledge that everyone else did as well helped.)

-----------------

"Tifa!"

She turned away from Cloud for a moment, searching for th voice that had called her. Marlene stood next to the sofa, looking cute as ever. "Yes?" Tifa answered.

"I lost Denzel again!" Her little voice bristled with anger and desperation.

Tifa choked back a laugh at Marlene's pouty, wide-eyed expression of faux helplessness. "I thought you were playing tag this time, not hide-and-seek!"

Marlene shrugged, still waiting. Tifa cast her eyes around the room, hoping desperately that someone would jump in, but no one seemed to have seen. Then, Tifa's sharp eyes caught a shoelace sticking out from behind an island in the kitchen and she stifled another laugh. Silently, she pointed to the kitchen, and Marlene scampered off delightedly, the pout gone.

Tifa turned back to Cloud and the rest of her friends, sighing in relief. The rest of them were laughing rather exuberantly about something, though Tifa had missed just what. Raising an eyebrow at Yuffie, who sat next to her in an armchair, red-faced from laughing, Tifa asked, "What on Earth is so funny?" Gasping, Yuffie pointed to Cid and Barret, on the sofa facing them.

Cid and Barret were practically _rolling_ with laughter, and there was a photo album in Barret's hands. Tifa rolled her eyes and stood to snatch it from them, then resumed her seat by Cloud. She looked at the page on her lap... and immediately blushed a furious scarlet color.

The photo on the page was one of her, taken but a month or two ago, at a moment when she'd been caught in the kitchen cooking breakfast. Her hair was a mess, and she wore a pink apron covered in various things. Worst of all, _she _was covered from head to foot in... what was that?... oh... Scrambled eggs. Tifa had to laugh at the picture, which (she grudgingly remembered) had been snuck by Cloud. Not to mention, she remembered with a giggle the circumstances in which she'd been caught in this picture...

It had been early that morning and she'd gotten up to make breakfast, of course... but the scrambled eggs weren't exactly cooperating. Marlene, who had woken up and wanted to "help", was in the kitchen with Tifa. Unfortunately, Tifa made the mistake of turning her back for _just _a moment to get more eggs out of the refrigerator, and Marlene had promptly tripped, taking the pan of half-scrambled eggs with her, and as such, all over the kitchen and Tifa. It had been in the instant _before _Tifa had bent to help Marlene that Cloud walked in and snuck the photograph (which she hated him for until he put the photo in the album and kissed her like he did). Tifa laughed and looked up at Cloud next to her, who shrugged as if to say, "I'm innocent!".

Then she caught sight of Vincent again. He looked... well, not happy. Then again, when had she ever seen a smile grace his features? Once, _maybe_, if at all. But something in those crimson eyes stopped her, made her catch her breath. She wasn't doing a very good job of not hurting him, was she? Tifa directed her attention back down at the photo album stubbornly, flipping a page or two until she came across a picture of Cloud that made her giggle.

It was one of him and Marlene, and in it, Marlene held a frilly, pink doll, which she seemed to be handing to Cloud. He looked quite confused in the photo, his crystalline blue eyes wide, and almost disgusted, a blonde eyebrow raised, but Tifa laughed anyway. It was too cute... and so was he. It was Cloud's turn to blush as she showed the picture to everyone else and they dissolved into new laughter.

Again, she caught sight of Vincent. Frustrated at herself, Tifa thought, _When will he ever not be on my mind!?_ She stood up, to "get a drink", as she said to the others... but she knew that wasn't what she was going after, and so did Vincent. Tifa walked right past where he stood and into the kitchen, but was all-too aware of it when he followed her. Thankfully, nobody else noticed.

"Feeling all right, Tifa?" his voice said behind her. It was far from warm, and there was something hidden behind the words that made Tifa stay facing away from him.

"Fine, Vincent," Tifa replied, a bit more coldly than she'd intended. She didn't want to hurt him (or herself) any further; he could understand if she was distant, couldn't he? Tifa brushed a strand of hair out of her eye and downed the glass of water she held.

"Really?" Vincent's voice was even colder, accusatory... a fact that shocked even himself. But he couldn't seem to stop. "You feel fine? In spite of what you're doing to me?"

Tifa spun to face him, aghast. "What _I'm _doing?! I am trying, as hard as I can, Vincent, to _not _hurt you, to be careful what I say and do and feel... I _hate _this! I hate you not talking to me, I hate that I have to walk on eggshells about my feelings for Cloud and I absolutely hate that you're blaming _me _for this!"

Their voices were quiet, almost whispers so as not to alert the others, but the intensity of hers shocked him. Vincent held his head high, defying the urge to hang it, but he apologized, feeling he should. "I'm sorry, Tifa; I shouldn't have accused you. I did this, to both of us. It is my fault."

Tifa sighed. "Vincent, _I _was the one who made you promise. _I'm _the one at fault. I should have known this would be harder than I ever wanted it to be; I should have known I couldn't have both of you and be happy completely. I am happy, don't get me wrong, but... I almost always feel like something's missing... and unfortunately, that's you. But I can't have you both, and I can't choose..." Tifa trailed off. "I should just... have neither," she said suddenly, realization and sadness in her eyes.

"And hurt Cloud?" Vincent asked quietly. "When he loves you so much, when he has more to give you than I ever will? After everything you and he have been through, you would do that to him, just because of a little pain on our parts once in a while?" His voice was still quiet, but there was an anger there that hadn't been there before. She knew he was outraged at the thought that she would hurt Cloud- his best friend, first and foremost- like that over him. "No," he answered himself firmly. "I won't let you, Tifa."

Tifa's eyes welled up. "I guess you're right," she whispered, looking away from him. "I guess this is it, yeah? Promise broken? No more... unrequited love? Back to the way it was before between us, Vince?" She knew her voice sounded depressed, knew her feelings were clear on her face. But if it had to be done...

"No," he repeated, startling her. "I made that promise in all seriousness, and I am going to continue to honor it, no matter what. But _you _can't."

Somehow, Tifa had known that was coming, and she glared at him. "You can't ask me to do that. It'll kill me to try, Vincent; you can't be serious."

"I'm dead serious, Tifa," he said, his crimson-colored eyes boring into hers. "You can't love me anymore; you have to try to stop... You have to, or it'll ruin us both, and Cloud. My own pain I can live with, but not yours, Tifa."

She opened her mouth to protest, but he interrupted her. "Not yours," he repeated, more softly, and the pain in his eyes was enough to convince her. "Please, Tifa, promise me that you will try to stop loving me. _Hate _me, if you have to, but I don't want either of us to hurt any further, especially not you."

Tifa swallowed. How could she resist a plea? "I- Fine, I promise, Vincent. I'll... I'll try, I will. But I can't... guarantee that I can do it." She sniffled. "What about Cloud? Do I tell him?"

"No," Vincent said again, but more loudly this time. "You can't, and you know it. It'd kill him."

She nodded. She knew it. "Okay, then. I guess we'd better go. They'll wonder," Tifa said, her face pale, her voice wan, half-hearted. She made as though to walk out of the kitchen and rejoin the group, but Vincent's hand on her elbow stopped her.

"One more thing," Vincent said quietly, pulling her back to him ferociously, so that she stumbled against his chest. And before she knew exactly what was happening, Vincent was kissing her.

Vincent's kiss was warm (a surprise), and soft, though he held her to him like a man dying of thirst, drank in her kiss like water. After long moments of this, he released her, and she stumbled backward, tears trickling down her face again. Their first kiss... and their last.

Defiantly, Tifa wiped the tears away and exited the kitchen, rejoining their friends. She sat down by Cloud, smiling as he wrapped an arm around her. Yes, this was right, this was where she wanted to be... even if it meant being without a part of herself Vincent had taken when he'd kissed her.

"Where did Vin go?"

Tifa turned to Yuffie, who'd asked the question. Stalling for time, she looked up at the front door... and saw the tail of a red cloak whipping away into the night. "He... said to wish you a happy birthday, and that he had... some business to take care of." Yuffie's face fell slightly, and Tifa grinned, knowing that she found the handsome mystery that was Vincent Valentine attractive.

"Tifa?" This time, it was Cloud's low rumble in her ear.

She turned to him, and her gut wrenched in guilt once- just once- as she looked at him and waited.

"Are you all right?"

Tifa swallowed, looking into those mako blue eyes she loved so much. They were slightly worried, a blonde eyebrow raised in concern, but they concealed a tenderness and passion for her that took her breath away even now. "Yeah, Cloud," she whispered finally. "Everything is great." And truly, from the bottom of her heart, she meant it. Even though she'd made a promise to stop loving Vincent, even though it was like a part of her was missing now, that part was small, and the rest of her was whole, happy, lucky in love and life in general. She had everything she'd ever dreamed of and more... and even without the pepper to add into her scrambled egg-like life, the salt was all hers for all time, which was more than good enough.

**A/N:** Thanks for reading! Once again, please review!!! I'll love you forever!!!


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